


A New Beginning

by hips_of_steel



Series: Parenting... What FUN! [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Adoption, England's POV, FACE Family, Human AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-09 09:20:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4342940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hips_of_steel/pseuds/hips_of_steel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Francis and Arthur have been trying to adopt for three years. Finally, they get a call. But what happens when the mother has twins?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A New Beginning

Nine, almost ten  full months. That's how long it takes for a baby to develop, from conception to birth. Thirty-eight weeks.

It makes me jealous of all the people who can have kids without help. I mean, do you understand how huge of a blessing that is?

Francis is sighing over the nursery room again. He's redecorated it five times, once for each time we get our hopes up, only to have them dashed.

"Hey, you want to look online again?" I ask, trying to reassure him. Eventually we’ll have our children. We just have to keep trying.

"What's the point?" He says, sighing.

I sigh right back at him. "Francis..."

"Three years, Arthur! We've been trying to adopt for three years! I'd just like to have one little child, is it so hard?!" He says, his voice betraying his emotions.

I realize what kind of mood he's in. I hug him tightly. "Don't worry. We'll have a baby soon enough."

Francis is sobbing without tears. The shakes in his body are a good indicator, however.

"Three years, mon amour. Three years..." He whispers, and finally the tears do come.

A week and a half later, we were sitting at home when the phone rang. Francis looked up at me, and I groaned. I should remember not to sit so close to the phone, or I am instantly designated as the one to answer it.

"Excuse me, this is Roderich Edelstein. I'm looking to reach the Kirkland-Bonnefoy household." A male voice spoke when I picked up.

"Yes, you've reached it. This is Arthur Kirkland speaking." I reply, wondering who this man is. Hopefully not anyone trying to solicit donations for a political campaign.

"I'm reaching out to you on the behalf of a client of mine. My client is currently eight months pregnant, and was planning to adopt her baby to a young couple who was believed to be infertile. However, the couple who had agreed to take her baby backed out when suddenly the wife discovered she was pregnant. My client isn't ready to be a parent yet, and the adoption agency referred us to you."

I turned towards Francis, who was sadly flipping through the pages of a magazine, unaware of my conversation. I wished I'd put this on speakerphone. I turned back towards the wall and spoke. "My partner and I would be very interested in meeting up with you and your client, Mr. Edelstein. Is there a particular place which would be good for you?"

After we'd ironed out the details of the appointment, we bid each other a curt goodbye, and then I turned and ran to Francis, clutching him in a bear hug.

"Oomph! Arthur, what has gotten into you?!" He asked after he pushed me off and tried to rescue his magazine which had fallen to the floor.

"That was a lawyer, Francis." I said, excited.

"I don't see the big deal then." Francis replied coolly, picking up his magazine

"An adoption lawyer!"

Francis's eyes nearly doubled in size and the magazine once again fell to the floor. "An-an adoption lawyer?"

"Yes. He said that he has a client who's eight months pregnant and the adopters backed out. Can you make it to a meeting at four o'clock tomorrow at Edelstein and Héderváry Law Offices?"

Francis grinned. "Did you even have to ask?"

****

Francis tsked at my tie choice, and I yelled at Francis about the color and style of his outfit, and somehow, we managed to get into the car and drive to the law offices without killing each other or having to change our outfits seven times.

A young man smiled at us when we entered. "Hello. I'm Feliciano. How may I help you?"

"I'm Mr. Kirkland, and this is my partner, Mr. Bonnefoy. I have an appointment with Mr. Edelstein."

“Call me Francis. I’m not old enough yet to be Mr. Bonnefoy.” Francis stated, offering his hand to Feliciano. I glared at him a little. He’s not old enough to be Mr. Bonnefoy, yet I, the younger man in this marriage, am old enough to be _Mr. Kirkland_?

Feliciano smiled, unaware of my death glare at Francis, and then pointed to the rooms behind the desk. "He's waiting for you. The door on the right. The one on the left is Miss Héderváry's office, and she's with another client right now."

We thanked him, and then carefully walked over to the doors. Francis noticed my death glare and jumped. _What did I do?_ He mouthed. I replied _We’ll discuss it later, Mr. Bonnefoy_. We checked our clothes one last time, and then knocked.

A brunette man opened the door. "Hello. I'm Roderich." He said, taking Francis’s hand and then mine.

"Francis."

"Arthur."

We entered the office, and sat in the chairs offered to us. "My client will be here shortly. She called and informed me she had gotten stuck in very heavy traffic."

There was the sound of a bell ringing, a quick call of “Hello, Feliciano!” and then after thirty seconds, hurried knocking.

"That would be her there." Roderich said, standing.

He went and opened the door, and a young girl stood there panting.

"I'm so sorry! There was an accident, and..." She began, looking at both Roderich and us in panic.

Francis spoke quickly and quietly to calm her. "Don't worry, Miss. We've only been here a few minutes."

She eventually calmed down after one last round of apologies, and then sat down across from us, next to Edelstein.

"My name's Lina Baudin." She said as we all introduced ourselves.

"French-Canadian?" Francis asked.

"On my father's side. My mother has more Norwegian roots."

Once introductions were made, they began to discuss the details of the adoption.

"My client would like to receive yearly updates on her child from you." Roderich said.

"That's fine. If you would like, Lina, you may also come and visit every now and then.” Francis said, smiling.

“Okay, but if the house is untidy, it’s his fault.” I said. Francis wanted to be a stay-at-home father. If he was going to invite Lina over, I wasn’t going to be held responsible for a dirty house. Lina laughed. “Don’t worry. Nothing I’ve ever seen has been as bad as my little brother’s room.

The discussions continued until finally the paperwork was signed and we had agreed to adopt Lina Baudin’s unborn child.

"It's good to meet you, Mr. Kirkland. And you too, Mr. Bonnefoy." She said, smiling.

Francis smiled right back. "Just call me Francis dear. So, do you know what the baby is, or are you keeping it a surprise?"

"Depends. Do you want to know?"

"Yes!" Francis replied, excited. I knew why. He’d been dreaming of names ever since we began to try to adopt.

"It's a boy."

Francis grinned and turned to me. "We're going to have a little boy, mon amour!"

Lina smiled, and eventually I managed to drag Francis out to the car so that Lina could call her older brother and get a ride home.

"In two months, we're going to be fathers!" Francis stated in the passenger seat, practically singing with joy.

"Yes, so let's be prepared, alright?" I stated, sounding annoyed, but in truth, I was just as excited as Francis.

****

We got the call three weeks early.

When the phone rang on Francis’s nightstand, I muttered. “You answer it, it’s your phone.” I then rolled over and put a pillow over my head so I could try to sleep.

"Hello?" Francis said, picking up the phone after it had rang yet again.

"Mr. Kirkland?"

"No, Bonnefoy. Who is this?"

"This is Roderich Edelstein."

Francis was instantly awake. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Edelstein! Arthur and I were asleep when you called!"

"I expected as much. I wanted to inform you that Miss Baudin has just given birth at St. Mary's Hospital."

Francis instantly yanked the blankets off me. Keep in mind, I had heard none of the conversation. "We'll be right there."

"Mr. Bonnefoy, I want to tell you that..." But Roderich never got the chance, because Francis had returned the phone to the cradle and shook me. "Wake up."

"Fuck you. The phone's ringing, and then you steal the blankets, asshole."

"Lina's given birth."

I opened my eyes. "What?"

"Lina gave birth. She's at the hospital. We should go."

I leapt out of the bed like a bullet, and within fifteen minutes we were in the car and heading to the hospital.

We met Roderich and a young woman at the maternity ward.

"This is my associate, Miss Héderváry." Roderich said, looking exhausted.

"Just call me Elizabeta." The woman said, shaking their hands. She was holding a cup of coffee and looked as tired as Roderich. We were all were wearing simple clothes, t-shirts and jeans and such.

"So, where is Lina and our little Matthieu?" Francis asked as we walked down the hall, using the name we’d chosen for our son.

"In here, but first I would like to say something." Roderich said, clearing his throat

Both Francis and I stopped and turned, concerned. "Is something wrong with Matthew?" I spoke, afraid.

"No, he's quite healthy. However, he has a twin." Roderich stated. “A brother.”

There's a long pause.

"Please, let's go in." Elizabeta stated, and in we went.

The four of us entered the room. Lina was lying back with a young man next to her joking. “Can’t wait to see you get back on the softball pitch, sis!”

“Knock it off Lewis.”

There are two cribs.

Lina turns when she sees us. "Hello."

"You look like hell." I stated.

Francis glared at me and tried to shut me up, but Lina laughed. "Yeah, guess I do."

There's a small cry, and everyone looks over at the cribs, but the cry goes quiet again very quickly.

Lina speaks again. "Are you going to take both of them? They're two little boys. I understand if you..."

"Of course we'll take them both..."

"Francis, can I speak with you for a moment?" I interrupted before dragging him out of the hospital room and into the hallway. Roderich followed us.

"What the hell were you going to say in there?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"We'll take both of them. We have too, Arthur. One shouldn't split up twins." Francis replied, as though it all made perfect sense.

"Francis, do we have a second car seat?" I asked.

"Non."

"Or a second crib?" I continued.

Francis begins to look worried. "Non."

"We can't have a second baby, Francis." I finally stated. “We just aren’t ready.”

Francis looked heartbroken. "But Arthur..."

I made the mistake of meeting those light blue eyes. "No, Francis. We just can't do it." I said, trying not to make eye contact again. If I did, I’d be in for the guilt trip of my life.

Roderich spoke. "You only agreed to adopt one infant. No one would blame you for deciding to only take one. I’ve already discussed this with Lina, and she says she understands.”

Francis shook his head, and then looked around the hall until he spotted a bench to sit on. He went over and sat, and would not move.

"Francis, come on." I said. I didn’t want to play these games with him.

"No." He responded.

"Francis, I'm not going to say this again. We can't..."

"Why not?" He said, looking straight up at me.

"I told you why." I said, trying to ignore those big blue eyes.

"We have money. We can buy another crib and car seat." Francis replied, and then turned away. Oh great. Let the guilt trip begin.

"Francis, I said..."

"You also said we'd adopt another baby in a few years. Can you imagine little Matthieu growing up with a little sibling only to find out we didn't adopt his real sibling? I will not move until you realize I'm right. I will not let Matthieu's brother go into the system."

I glared at Francis while Roderich stood nearby. I was not going to let him guilt trip me! I was not going to let him guilt trip me. I was not…

I looked at those eyes.

I should have known better.

"You have to make dinner at least five nights a week." I began.

"Fine. I already do that.”

"And you'll have to continue your photography part-time once the boys are a few months old. We'll need the extra income to support both of them."

"Okay." He stated, his arms slowly beginning to uncross.

"And you're going to get in there, sign paperwork, name the babies with me, and then the moment the sun is up, you're going shopping for a second car seat and crib, and I will go home and take a nap."

"Harsh, but fair." He said, and nodded. “I agree to the conditions.”

I sighed. "I'm such a bloody pushover."

"Yes, but you're my bloody pushover, Eyebrows."

"Do you want to get hit?" I muttered, rubbing my eyes. It was so damn hard to win an argument against Francis.

****

Two birth certificates, two checks from nurses, two appointments made, two car seat checks, and two blond infants.

The oldest by thirteen minutes was Matthew. He had curly hair and dark blue-purple eyes. The younger boy was Alfred, with straight hair and light blue eyes. Since Francis had named Matthew, I named Alfred.

Lina came down to say goodbye. "Bye, little ones. I'll be watching over you." And then, after she kissed them goodbye, she returned to her room to gather her things and leave.

We buckled the boys in, and drove home. Once we got home, we placed them in their cribs, and turned the baby monitor on.

"They're so beautiful." Francis said, practically cooing in the glow of the fading light.

I nodded, and held Francis close. "Yes, they are."

We stood by the cribs, and slowly the light faded as the sun sank into the west.

"I'll go make dinner, love." Francis said, and then turned and headed downstairs.

I waited until he was gone to speak. "I'm glad your papa's a determined man. It's good to have both of you. It really is." I said, not willing to admit it yet in front of Francis.

And then I could swear, both infants smiled in their sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone. I'm thinking about this being the beginning of a series. I just have an urge to write a bunch of stories about France and England raising these two. Imagine all the trouble they'll get into once they can walk! Anyhow, suggestions welcome for story ideas!


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